hello my names kai and i am new to this forum. here is a little background. i just finished my junior year in college and am a avid laser sailor. i also plan on crewing on j30s this summer to learn how to sail/race big boats. next year i plan on graduating and taking a trip. so i figured since i love to sail so much why not sail somewhere. i was brainstorming the other day and came up with an idea either to sail to bermuda or the bahamas (which ever is nicer)or where ever time depending i have about a month and ahalf to do this. this is all just in the planing stages right now. So here is the what i THINK i need. i was thinking that i would need atleast 30' but nothing too big. it would also would be need to beable to be single handed. im not sure between a keel i would need or should prefer(shoal or whatever), but it would have to be a stable and very sea worthy so my mom doesnt have a heart attack. i was thinking the very most i should take out a loan for is 10-15k, if it could be done for less with out cutting corners then that would be great. other than that i have no idea. ANY ideas, opinions, thoughts would be greatly appreciated. happy sailing.
-kai

Sailing to Bermuda from anywhere is a multi-day open ocean passage. You don't need a bombproof bluewaterboat to do it, but you want something that gives you confidence in its ability to handle nasty weather surprises for an extended period of time.

Sailing from Florida to the Bahamas is a glorified daysail and just about any boat can do it PROVIDED you carefully pick your weather window for crossing the Gulf Stream. You must be flexible about your departure date, and once in the Bahamas you will definitely appreciate a shoal draft. Also a cruising permit for a sub 35' boat will cost you $150 regardless of whether you stay for 1 month or 6, but even in one month you will get your money's worth. I could easily spend months or even years in the Bahamas. Bermuda is great, but doesn't offer the same variety or spectacular cruising waters with literally 100s of islands.

Well, Bermuda is one thing and the Bahamas is another. You don't want a project boat for a one month cruise, but there are many suitable and reasonably good condition boats available for less than 15K that could do the Bahamas - there's a member there now in a MAC 26. You can even get something that's already there - eg.:

so do you think i could make it to the bahamas on a 26 footer? im comin from mass. this is just an idea that i had that i think could be a blast. i was thinking i could take my time and hug the east coast all the way down to the bahamas. any ideas on what makes of boats?

A disconnect here is that Kai thinks a month and a half is a long time and all of our replies say it is a short window.

Cruising is a slow process that takes a lot of time. You should not plan to spend the majority of your time sailing there and sailing back. You'll basically need to arrive and start planning to leave. There are many reasons for delays, mainly weather.

Better to spend as much of that time as possible sailing around the islands and having a good time. Making memories!

so do you think i could make it to the bahamas on a 26 footer? im comin from mass. this is just an idea that i had that i think could be a blast. i was thinking i could take my time and hug the east coast all the way down to the bahamas. any ideas on what makes of boats?

You could make it in a dinghy now, I'm not suggesting you should go do a crazy thing like that. What i'm trying to say is that seaworthiness isn't always linked to size. One of the things that has struck me since I started looking around here is how different our approaches to sailing seem to be, depending on what part of the world we come from. There are for instance lots of Scandiavian people who do single handed round the world trips in small boats (20-30 feet). Naturally, there are a lot of designs over here well suited for blue water cruising. Some require modification, some don't. Most of them are well below 15k.

I know a guy who sailed from Sweden to Chile in a 22 footer, equipped with a hand compass and a transistor radio (70's). He used the radio to search for stations as he approached land, to see how close he was, and more importantly what country he was approaching. Apparantly it's a very accurate method of navigation. i'd still reccomend a GPS today though

What I'm trying to say is that it doesn't have to be complicated, and the boat doesn't have to be really big, just make sure it's seaworthy and designed for open sea. Apart from that, I agree with slomotion. Get a boat there, cruise around Bahamas and then take it home, or sell it.

so what are some manufacurers that you would suggest i look into that are sea worthy.
-kai

Hey!

The Allegro 27 is the single most popular type for blue water cruising. It's a full keel double ender. A couple of hundred were built and they are spread across the world. Between them they have countless ocean crossings. They just changew owners and go again and again. Price from 12k and up. Here's one you can read about Allegro 271972 Norlin Allegro ALLEGRO 27 Boat For Sale

Most of them are already equipped for cruising, and good to go.

Other types would be Amigo 23, a sturdy little 22 footer. Also full keel This is the type that sailed to Chile. Would require extra watertanks for cruising, otherwise good to go. I doubt you'll find any outside europe though. Amigo 23, Amigobladet och Lova Page is in swedish but click the links to the left and you'll get a few pics. Price from 7k

Another one is Misil II or Hallberg Rassy 24. Misilbilder click on "Bilder" (pictures). HR 24 Misil II Also a really good and well built boat, long keel, but not full. Handles really well and looks beautiful. I used to own one, the previous owner sailed it single handedly to the West Indies and back. Reinforcing the mast bulkhead is a good idea for blue water cruising. Probably hard to find outside europe as well. Price from 7k.

I've heard that the Vancouver 27 is a good boat, but I don't have any personal experience with it. Probably a lot easier to find on your side of the Atlantic though.